The rise of Reform?

Reform is the re-branded Brexit Party whose Honorary President is non other than Nigel Farage.

But forget about Nige for a moment, without him canvassing in the lead up to the by-elections yesterday, Reform pulled in over 10% of the vote.

At the last general election Farage had a pact not to stand candidates in Tory held seats but that agreement has now gone and the gloves are off with the current Reform leadership.

Reform (Brexit Party as was) is obviously more supported in areas that voted for Brexit and...

Reform's pitch is to voters disaffected with both main parties - and Mr Tice has been equally scathing about Labour.

But the party's polices - including a far tougher line on immigration and scrapping the government's net zero commitments - are in tune with the views of many on the right of the Tory Party.

Seems at the moment that the Conservatives will be wiped out at this years General Election based on last nights results so it would not surprise me if the W63's of this world would cast their votes to Reform this time around as Reform are saying exactly what they want to hear.

Unlikely Reform will win any seats on a first past the post basis but they may well make a last minute Tory win impossible if they do win the traditional Tory voters over to them believing a Conservative General Election win is already impossible anyway.

Will W63 be ripping up his Tory membership card and voting Reform soon perhaps?


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68314949

Absolutely not Sluffy, I’m a Tory through and through and always will be. Eventually the Conservatives will return to the centre right party it should be but my fear is that following a wipe out of the Tory MP’s who believe in the things I do we’ll be left with a rump of wets as Maggie titled them who will do nothing to reverse the damage done in recent years in their next incarnation. Frankly Sluffy I don’t really care much any more. It’s the next generations world now and like it or not I can’t impact it so I’ll just leave it to them and the mess they’re making of it.

Whitesince63 wrote:Absolutely not Sluffy, I’m a Tory through and through and always will be. Eventually the Conservatives will return to the centre right party it should be but my fear is that following a wipe out of the Tory MP’s who believe in the things I do we’ll be left with a rump of wets as Maggie titled them who will do nothing to reverse the damage done in recent years in their next incarnation. Frankly Sluffy I don’t really care much any more. It’s the next generations world now and like it or not I can’t impact it so I’ll just leave it to them and the mess they’re making of it.

That's exactly where I am - on about everything not just politics.

And that is why I'm amazed why everyone get's so worked up about things - particularly on here - which nearly none of us can do much about.

Strangely enough that is exactly the conversation I had tonight with a friend.

Basically his father has just turned 66 and was asking me about what his dad needed to do in respect of his state pension?

I explained that his father should already have been contacted by the government office informing him of what he will be receiving and how it will be paid into his dad's bank account - it should all be straight forward and easy to understand - at least I found it so.

I did point out a couple of things to note, first that payment is made every 28 days and so he will get 13 payments over the year and not 12 - meaning the payment date will change every month and not say always be on the 28th of each month.

The second being that the pension is taxable income.

What people don't realise is that if you work beyond your 66th birthday (as his dad is) then his wages and state pension will be added together, his personal allowance deducted from that total and the rest will be taxed.

Some bloke overheard me explaining the last bit and went crazy (not in a threatening way) that the government is out to screw everyone and that the sooner they fuck off the better.

I had to explain that even if Labour got in (as it seems very likely they will) that they won't change the tax system in this regard either - so in essence, Tory, Labour, SNP or anyone else winning the next elections won't change a thing - 'we' just have to accept that is how the system works - whether we like it or not - so why worry and get angry over it?

I just don't see the need to get so het up and angry over something you can't do much if anything about?

Look at all the anger we've had on here about Brexit, Anderson, PPE contracts, etc, etc - and we've had loads of people losing their rag and storming off - when nothing any of us can do to change things - and they like it even less when me or someone else explains things as to how they actually are and NOT as people believe them to be - such as the bloke who overheard me tonight.

I did think W63 that you may look to move over to Reform at some point in the future as the policies they are pushing are clearly the ones you support and the current Conservative party is clearly not to your liking.

Never say never but I see Reform maybe becoming the home of the more right wing thinkers of the Tory Party once the Conservatives are out of power, either that or the Tory party will have to work really hard to prevent there being a split away from their membership to Reform in the future.

Power to the people and all that...

Whitesince63 wrote:Absolutely not Sluffy, I’m a Tory through and through and always will be. Eventually the Conservatives will return to the centre right party it should be but my fear is that following a wipe out of the Tory MP’s who believe in the things I do we’ll be left with a rump of wets as Maggie titled them who will do nothing to reverse the damage done in recent years in their next incarnation. Frankly Sluffy I don’t really care much any more. It’s the next generations world now and like it or not I can’t impact it so I’ll just leave it to them and the mess they’re making of it.

It made me laugh when, in the face of two calamitous by-election results, the Tories wheeled out the anachronism that is Jacob Rees-Mogg, (the most justifiably derided of the lot of them) to try to defend the results with his neanderthal, out-of-touch views.

Good to see our government with their finger on the pulse of current public opinion.....They seem to be choosing the wrong option on every issue.

Hey, at last something we both broadly agree on slurry?

Fwiw Slufy I’ve never once thought of joining reform as to me doing so just increases the Labour majority that’s coming anyway. I just think the Tory Party is temporarily out of touch with both its membership and the wider country where it’s traditionally been. Reform only has two strings, immigration and  net zero and whilst I agree with them on both as well as their fight against woke it’s not enough for me to switch as hopefully from the Tory wreckage can emerge a new, proper Conservative Party.

Oko I don’t think the Tory party rolls the Mog out so much as him taking the opportunity having his own platform on GB News!

the Tory Party is temporarily out of touch

karlypants wrote:the Tory Party is temporarily out of touch

Best laugh I've had in ages!!!

Sluffy wrote:

Best laugh I've had in ages!!!

Ok, I accept not the best of descriptions just that I mean temporary until a refreshed Conservative Party emerges that properly reflects Tory values and policies. How long is temporary of course? Who knows but it had better be quick if the party does want to survive because members are leaving in their droves. Who can blame them though, the way the party has behaved over recent years? I’m disillusioned but still hopeful that someone will emerge from the ashes to recover not just what’s been done to the party and country by idiots over the last 14 years but also the forthcoming Labour idiots for the next five if things don’t change.